Software Update: EZ CD Audio Converter 8.1

Poikosoft has released version 8.1 of EZ CD Audio Converter. EZ CD Audio Converter is an all-in-one program for ripping, editing and converting audio files and can also be used to burn CDs and DVDs. Support is available for all known audio formats, including mp3, aac, he aac, Dolby Pulse, Apple Lossless, flac, Vorbis, Opus and Windows Media Audio. Since version 8.1, the following changes and improvements have been made:

Changes in version 8.1

• Added AC-3 (ac3) encoder
• Fixed Apple AAC encoder configuration ui for non-VBR formats
• Automatic 32/64-bit file format for MPEG-4 ISO base media file formats (m4a m4b)
• Fixed 64-bit WAV (PCM) (RF64) missing number of samples field from the file header
• Support decoding Vorbis (ogg) files larger than 2GB
• Restricted TTA file size to 4GB (TTA file format maximum size is 4GB)
• Workaround for the Opus encoder bug in automatic Music/Voice detection in 5.1 channel mode with very low bitrates
• Updated FFmpeg 4.1 (provides decoding support for various audio formats)
• Reset free trial period

Changes in version 8.0.7

• Set SoX sample rate converter as default resampler
• Three SoX resampler quality modes: High, Very High, and Ultra High
• DSD to lossless conversion with output sample rate set to ‘Auto’ now resamples to highest multiple, equal, or below 384 kHz
• Improved SoX resampler performance by enabling the SIMD-AVX optimizations
• All codecs recompiled with the latest optimizing Intel C++ 19.0 Update 1 compiler. Resulting minor performance improvements
• Decode AMR (Adaptive Multi-Rate NB+WB) files
• Decode THD (TrueHD) files

Changes in version 8.0.6

• Added Audio Engine settings to the Options
  • Select preferred sample rate converter
    • SoX resampler
    • Opus/Speex resampler
  • Select sample rate conversion quality
  • Added Dithering options
    • Enable / Disable the dither
    • Select Rectangular, Triangular, or Noise-shaped
• Smarter ‘Auto’-selection of the output sample rate (for all output formats)
  • Automatically select the output sample rate that preserves the best audio quality (previously used sample rate multiples when possible)
  • Output sample rate can also be chosen manually for all output formats
• Added 384kHz and 352.8kHz sample rate output for all lossless formats (except for WMA/lossless that does not support it)
• Improved Opus encoder audio quality
  • Uses sample rate converter and quality selected from the Options for improved audio quality (Opus internally uses Speex resampler with quality level 5)
  • Configure sample rate converter quality from Options
• Vorbis encoder update
  • Added manual sample rate selection
  • Now supports 192kHz, 176.4kHz, 96kHz, and 88.2kHz encoding
• FhG FDK AAC encoder update
  • Added manual sample rate selection
  • Now supports 96kHz and 88.2kHz encoding
  • More CBR formats for AAC LC and HE AAC v1
• Apple AAC encoder update
  • Added manual sample rate selection
• Improved MP3 encoder audio quality
  • Better audio quality for output formats that require sample rate conversion
  • Let the LAME MP3 encoder to decide the best sample rate, but use sample rate converter selected from the Options for improved audio quality
  • Configure sample rate converter quality from Options
• Monkey’s Audio v4.40 codec update

Changes in version 8.0.5

• Fixed the bug where MusicBrainz query froze the App when MusicBrainz service returned malformed metadata entry. Bug occurred in very rare occasions.
• Minor user interface improvements

Changes in version 8.0.4

• Opus 1.3 codec update
• Manual GD3 database search
• Improved WAV metadata support
• User interface improvements

Changes in version 8.0.3

• Added option to save cover art to an external file in Audio Converter
  • Filename can be auto or specified (eg Folder.jpg)
  • Option to auto-resize
• Added WAV dual channel L+R output mode (per user requests)
• Other improvements
  • GD3 cover art search now works with ambersand (&)
  • Don’t write Total Tracks metadata in Disc Image and Single File mode if it is disabled from the Settings
  • Case conversion is now also applied to Album Artist and Album Title

Changes in version 8.0.2

• Improved the ‘Verify Audio’ ripping method
  • Sector by sector CRC comparison
  • Show number of CRC errors found
  • Log exact positions or CRC errors
• Improved ripping log error reporting layout
  • Exact time position of an error at start of a line
  • Multiple errors in the same time position are reported on the same line
• Added Eject and Close Tray buttons to the Disc Burner 🙂
• Updated language translations
• Bug fix: ‘Copy external Cover Art file’ option now respects the setting

Changes in version 8.0.1
Following changes have been made in response to user feedback:

• Put ‘Delete source files after conversion’ option back
• Added ‘Play’ to Audio Converter list right-click menu
• Cover Art ‘Load’ does not open the location of the currently selected audio file, but uses the default or last used location
• Bug Fix: Audio CD Ripper creating an empty m3u playlist